At the Jungle Theater, I’m committed to gender parity in the roles onstage. We also are committed to gender parity offstage, with our directors, designers, and playwrights. Jungle was just honored with the 50/50 Applause Award for Gender Parity in our programming from the International Center for Women Playwrights.

These days, it feels like a radical act to gather together, turn off our cell phones and imagine, laugh, and connect. It also feels radical to find opportunities to put women in charge of a room and at the heart of a story. It delights me to give women the opportunity to engage with comedy. There is a reason we still don’t have major female late night hosts — there is a lot of power in who gets to tell the jokes.

Beyond great stories, there are specific themes that interest me this season. We are doing a world premiere of “Little Women” that looks at gender identity and expression. “The Children” looks at our responsibility in the face of environmental destruction. “School Girls” tackles colorism. “Small Mouth Sounds” looks at how we connect. “Stinkers” is a hilarious, heartfelt look at modern parenthood.

We are also paying it forward with our JungleWrites program, which teaches playwrighting and provides professional mentorship for teenage girls. In an industry that has a long way to go towards more female leadership, I’m proud that Jungle is giving talented women in our community the chance to grow.